Part 2

When it comes to exploring darker themes, what's your approach to writing lyrics? What makes lyrics good in this regard?

Olof: Time is a very important component for me in order to develop an idea and let it brew.

Also for research purposes. I try to avoid just regurgitating facts about a historical episode that you could just read on Wikipedia. In order to add some gravitas to the stories I write, it is important to me that I am somewhat knowledgeable about the eras and locations in which they are set.

I am also mindful of not being to “on the nose”, I don't want my lyrics to be prose that just tell a tale, but to leave room for interpretation and reflection. At the same time I don't want them to be to convoluted and masturbatory, it is important that there is a red thread that one can follow.

Tell me about the creative process for Blodsdåd och hor, please.

Olof: As we live at each our end of the Scandinavian peninsula, the process is the same for all of our releases. Elis composes the songs, but sends me drafts along the way so that I can comment and get inspiration for lyrical themes. I do the same to Elis regarding the lyrics.

Then we take a long weekend in the studio to polish lyrics, add keyboards and potential samples and record the vocals. Jocke, our drummer, gets a draft with programmed drums to get and idea of how Elis has imagined the drums, but then adds his own flair and changes beats were he sees fit to give his own personal touch to the sound.

Elis: I guess Olof answered this question great. To explain a bit deeper, melodies, riffs and hooks suddenly just appear by themselves when I listen to extreme bands, when I'm laying in bed with an acoustic guitar, when I think about world politics, injustice, pain, evil and stupidity.

Most riffs are written with an acoustic guitar or a piano. Piano is great to write melodies on, I have a easier time writing melancholic melodies on piano, but brutality and ice cold darkness fits the guitar better I guess.

For Blodsdåd och hor, how did you realize your goals in terms of the production, including effects?

Elis: The goals is to finish one song at the time, and the song doesn't end before it has told the story we want to tell.

Production wise, we trust William Blackmon with the mix and master, he sends us mixes and we discuss them, but he always heading the same way we do , and we talk the same musical language.

The goal isn't the most important thing, the way there is what creates the album, so we don't rush towards the goal.

Exploring darker themes in the music often goes hand in hand with the accompanying artwork. Tell me a bit about this relating to Blodsdåd och hor.

Olof: Starting with the cover art. It is a photography taken by Elis' brother Josua depicting a mountain. It has a hardened and raw feeling to it which reflects the music and lyrics. Compared to the two previous albums, Hädanefter and Av stoft which were more somber in their expression, Blodsdåd och hor is darker and has a rawer vein of aggression pulsing through it.

Then each of the two songs are represented by three symbols which reflect the core concepts of the songs. “Ett altare av skärvor” (An altar of shards) is represented by Yggdrasil, symbolizing life and resilience, the Gjallarhorn, which symbolizes the coming of the end, and Jörmundgandr, the Midgard Serpent, symoblizing the destructive forces of nature and the cyclic passing of time.

“Dit gudarna trälar är” (Where the gods are thralls) is represented by a pickaxe, symbolizing iron industry and the ravaging of nature, an eagle symbolizing dominance, but also the dark shadow of Swedish cooperation with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and the sword represents war and bloodshed.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your darker songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

Olof: One thing that has popped up a few times here and there is the suggestion that our music is in some way a tribute to the “past glory of Scandinavia” or about national pride, which I guess mostly comes from people who haven't spent much time reading our lyrics.

But other except for those few instances,  we have gotten loads of messages from people who seem to understand that what we are doing by exploring the darkness in our past and who are conveying their deep appreciation for our music.

One such person told us that it had helped him through a rough patch in his life following the passing of his father, which made us really happy. I am glad that someone can find meaning and strength from something we have created with dedication and emotion, sometimes as a way to deal with our own struggles.

Sharing music on stage can change the way it is experienced, both for musicians the listeners. Can you talk about this a bit, especially in the light of darker themes?

Olof: This is definitely true, very often I find new appreciation for certain songs or certain bands, which I might not listen to regularly, when seeing a good live show with intensity and emotion.

One thing I particularly enjoy with black metal and adjacent genres is the theatrical aspect. It is not just t-shirt, jeans and a tight set, even if there is a charm in “letting the music speak for itself” also.

I appreciate when there is an effort to convey the message and atmosphere of the music also as a visual element.

Throughout the history of art, there have been artists who did not want to exorcise their demons, afraid they might lose their creative spark. What's your take on that?

Olof: I don't fully buy it, even if I can understand what people are getting at. Very often I find it a post hoc rationalization of not wanting to change, or a poor excuse for even poorer behavior.

At the end of the end of the day it is a about fear of change and perceived expectations, whether true or not. You might not be able to create something authentically from the same emotions as you previously have done, and what you and your audience is used to, and it is challenging to venture into uncharted territories when you have followed the same path all your life. I guess it doesn't help that sadness, despair and anger are some of the most powerful emotions that we can experience, and hence effective for having an impact on other people.

But fuck it, if you want to go down in self destruction just to keep your audience pleased or because it is too hard to find other routes for creative outlet, I'm not going to stand in your way!

Elis: I am all for renewing my self, I'm not afraid of releasing something that wouldn't fit some of our first listeners, like it, don't like, I don't care. There will always be people complaining.

I enjoy that bands can change, it means that they have grown. So I can enjoy a band's first, second and fifth album while I think the third and fourth sucked, but so what?

In Jordfäst's case, I'm not afraid that our listeners will find Blodsdåd och hor a too big step from the first and second album, but what do I know really?